Quatre Raberba and the Forty Maguanacs
by Lady Kav and Sandy Winner
Summary: A very funny adventure/comedy fanfic featuring Quatre and the Maguanac corp. Quatre & Co. are on a quest to find Ali baba's lost treasure and meet up with various Gundam characters along the way. Guaranteed to make you laugh.


Author's note:  
  
Dear GW fans:  
  
This is our first Gundam Wing fanfic and we are really excited! We decided to concentrate mainly on Quatre and the Maguanacs because we felt that not a lot of stories have been written about them. This is meant to be an adventure/comedy. It's starts out a little slow but we guarantee you will be laughing in no time. Don't worry the other Gundam Wing characters appear throughout the story.   
  
Happy Reading,  
  
Lady Kav and Sandy Winner  
  
Disclaimer: We don't own Gundam Wing or it's characters. They belong to Sotsu/Sunrise and Bandai entertainment. Don't bother suing us, we don't have any money anyway. We should be working to earn a living but instead we spend all our time watching anime and surfing online for more anime.  
  
Quatre Raberba and the 40 Maguanacs  
(A.C. 200)  
by: Lady Kav and Sandy Winner  
  
Part: 1 Quatre's Birthday and the Maguanacs' Plea  
  
The ballroom was beautifully decorated. The gold chandelier that hung in the middle of the room sparkled like diamonds. In the background he could hear the orchestra softly playing "White Reflection." The tables were covered with white Damask cloth imported from Damascus. The best china had been laid out for his guests. In the center was a ten tier white chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake with twenty candles. It was 8:00 in the evening, yet no one had arrived. He felt all alone in the big empty room. A solitary tear escaped his eye.  
  
Suddenly, the doorbell rang and a huge smile appeared on his face. Quatre thought to himself, "My friends haven't abandoned me after all." He sprinted to the door and opened it. There stood a man in uniform with a cap on his head. This man said, "Special delivery from Universal Postal Services. Happy Birthday kid." He handed Quatre a bag full of presents. He opened the bag and realized that all his dear friends that he had invited-Heero, Duo, Wufei, Relena, Noin, Zechs, Lady Une, Sally, his 29 sisters, and the 40 Maguanacs-could not make it to his party, but at least they had sent him some presents. But Quatre wasn't sad because he knew his best friend Trowa would come. The door bell rang again. Quatre excitedly shouted, "Trowaaaah!"  
  
He frantically opened the door with a smile and there standing in the rain with long hair was...Dorothy Catalonia. The smile vanished from Quatre's face, which is a rare occurrence. After his initial shock he finally spoke, "Oh it's you Dorothy." She replied, "Who else were expecting Quatre-sama?" Quatre then realized something and exclaimed, "Hey wait! I didn't even invite you!" Dorothy ignored him and pushed her way through the door and into the ballroom. She elbowed Quatre and sarcastically remarked, "Some party, eh Quatre-sama?" She pointed a fencing sword at him. "Here's my present," she said in her callous voice with her forked eyebrows raised.  
  
Quatre warily backed away. Dorothy handed him the sword and he sighed in relief. Dorothy smugly looked at him and said, "Well, did you think I was going to stab you? It was pretty boring the last time I did it." She continued, "Well, I won't stay long because I have better things to do than hanging around with you." Quatre looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face and said under his breath, "But Dorothy you're always stalking me." Dorothy continued in an exasperated voice, "Oh Quatre, you're no fun. You're always busy handling the Winner natural resource satellites and you never have any time for me. Don't you miss going on adventures with Sandrock and fighting factions? Your life is so boring!" Dorothy, in a huff, departed and slammed the door on her way out. Outside Dorothy said under her breath. "I should have killed you and put you out of your misery when I had the chance on Libra." She then walked to her gold limo and drove off.  
  
A big smile returned to Quatre's face. "Dorothy's gone and now I have all these presents to open!" He unwrapped the first present. "It's a pair of black spandex and a green tanktop!" He exclaimed. The card stated, "Let me give you one piece of advice -- spandex hurts like hell, but you need to stop wearing that pink shirt." Quatre, examining the spandex shorts, wondered, "Hm, I wonder where Heero keeps his gun?"  
  
Moving on to the next present he found a bottle of champagne. To his dismay it contained alcohol! Quatre exclaimed, "Duo, you know we're too young to drink alcohol!"  
  
He discarded it and opened the next present. It was a sheet of music composed by Trowa called "I'm your friend" with a special arrangement for the flute and violin so they could play it the next time they met each other. Quatre with tears in his eyes said, "Trowaaaah! You are a very kind person, but I guess you couldn't make it after all."  
  
Noin, Zechs, Sally, and Lady Une had sent him 'The Preventers Official Guide to Pacifism'. His sisters had given him, as usual, an assortment of vests. It had been a tradition ever since he could remember.  
  
Next Quatre saw an envelope addressed to 4 Baba Wiener. Quatre thought to himself, "Who's 4 Baba Wiener? I'm sure it's not one of my sisters." Out of curiosity he opened the envelope. In it there was a picture of Vice-Foreign Minister Darlian standing in front of the Sank Kingdom. At the top it was written, "To___________(insert your name) thanks for worshipping me, love Relena." Quatre in a wistful voice said, "The Saaaaaank Kingdom. This is the best gift of all." He knew the perfect spot in his room to hang it.  
  
In a carefully wrapped package were some audio tapes entitled "How to be a misogynist: Women are weak and evil" The note said. "I owe my award-winning personality to these tapes. They made me what I am today." Quatre wasn't sure who sent this and just discarded them.   
  
Finally he opened the last present to discover a book entitled 'Ali Baba and The Forty Thieves' sent to him by the Maguanacs. In his study Quatre sat down in a comfortable chair with a cup of tea by his side. He was really excited about the book because it was about his Arab ancestors. After he read it, he thought to himself, "Wow! This story was really amazing. Ali Baba, who was poor, becomes the richest man in Arabia by discovering the secret lair of the forty thieves, stealing from them, and outsmarting them with the help of his faithful servant Morganita." He wondered if there really existed such a cave hidden in the mountains of Arabia that would open with the words "Open Sesame!"  
  
Quatre really liked this rags-to-riches story because all the rich people died and Ali Baba looked like Rashid, his favorite Maguanac. "Interesting," he commented, "All those Arabs that lived 2,000 years ago had dark skin and black hair, but I have blond hair and blue eyes. How weird! Maybe it had to do with the fact that Heero is Japanese, but has big blue eyes and brown hair."  
  
Quatre was about to close the book when a letter fell out. It was from Abdul. "Oh it's a letter from Abdul who always wears the coolest sunglasses and fez," remarked Quatre remembering Abdul fondly. He started reading it:  
  
Dear Quatre-sama,  
  
A thousand and one apologies for not attending your birthday celebration. We have been preoccupied with a serious matter. Our Maguanac mobile suits are severely damaged and since the world nation has been promoting a program for demilitarization, we lack the support and funds to rebuild our mobile suits. We believe that the legend of Ali Baba and the forty thieves is true, after all we forty Maguanacs are the descendants of the forty thieves. There really exists a secret cave in a mountain somewhere in Arabia that contains there long-lost treasure. We know that Ali Baba did not take all of it. With this treasure, not only do we find a key to our past, but also a key to the future of our mobile suits. Rashid has mysteriously disappeared. As your humble servants we implore you Quatre-sama to lead us on this expedition.  
  
Yours truly,  
  
Abdul  
  
Quatre sipped his tea and sighed, "Poor Maguanacs," he thought. "Hey! I just got a great idea! I have a ton of money so I can help the Maguanacs out. Besides I don't have time to go on some crazy adventure. I have so much paper work to do and my sisters are constantly fighting." He recalled the monthly business meeting the other day when his sisters were all screaming at each other. He told them, "We shouldn't be fighting at all!" In response they all threw their high-heeled shoes at him. He still had bruises.  
  
He exhaled loudly. He knew Rashid and the Maguanacs wouldn't accept his money. For some reason Dorothy's harsh words kept echoing in his mind. He was tired of sitting in an office the whole day and listening to his sisters bicker. He yearned for an adventure and this was the perfect opportunity. In the process he could use Sandrock again. Even though he had no use for Sandrock, he just couldn't bare to part with his best friend and kept him these past few years. Besides, the Maguanacs had helped him on numerous occasions-they helped him escape from Lady Une and Oz in the desert, they rescued Sandrock from Oz and restored him, and they even helped him, Quatre Raberba Winner, destroy Libra. He thought to himself, "What would Heero say?" Out loud Quatre said enthusiastically, "Mission accepted!"  
  
  
Part 2: Journey Through Arabia  
  
A). Disturbance at the Maguanac Base  
  
Abdul handed Quatre a cup of tea. They were at the Maguanacs' secret  
underground base, somewhere in the middle of the Arabian Desert. Quatre was  
pouring over topography maps of the area looking for caves. Since the  
Alliance and Oz's demise the civilians that had been living underground had  
returned to the surface and established new towns. This fortress was now a  
military base for the Maguanacs. Ever since he had left Colony L4, Quatre had  
felt this eerie feeling that he was being followed. He wondered if it was  
connected to Rashid's disappearance. Abdul had told him that Rashid had told him  
that he had to prepare for some big event, but Rashid had not yet returned.  
It had been two months and no one knew of his whereabouts.  
  
Quatre sighed and asked Anwar, the Maguanac with the red fez and long  
pointy mustache, about the history of Arabia during the time The Arabian  
Nights were written. Anwar sadly answered that the Alliance and wars before  
that, had erased much of their history during the AD era. In fact, no one  
even knew what AD stood for. Since Quatre was intelligent and resourceful he  
exclaimed, "Well my dear Maguanacs, we'll just have to search some of the  
oldest towns and look for clues." Abdul asked, "Where should we start  
Quatre-sama?" Quatre replied, "I don't know, maybe Sandrock will give me some  
inspiration." He climbed into Sandrock and kept saying over and over,  
"Sandrock please help me, my mecha!" After 10 minutes an idea struck him. "I  
know which town we'll go to! We'll go to the ancient holy town of Mecca!"  
  
Almost in response to his ingenious plan an explosion shook the  
underground base violently. Abdul shouted, "We're under attack. It's mobile  
suits! Quick everyone get into your mobile suits and prepare for battle!" As  
soon as the Maguanacs arrived on the surface, they realized that their mobile  
suits had no ammo. The five in charge of the attack burst out laughing when  
they saw the beaten-up Maguanac mobile suits. The attackers consisted of a  
tall lady with light brown hair tied into two twists, another lady with long  
brown straight hair, a woman with dark blue-black hair that covered half her  
face, a man with long platinum-blond hair, and an angry short man with jet  
black hair slicked back into a tight pony tail. Quatre, in Sandrock, finally  
reached the surface and he realized who his nemesis' were: It was the  
Preventers!  
  
Quatre jumped out of Sandrock and ran in between the two groups and  
shouted, "We shouldn't be fighting at all!" Everyone dropped their weapons  
(well the Maguanacs didn't have any weapons to boast about) except the angry  
short man with the ponytail. He aimed his gun at Quatre and started firing.  
Quatre hopped around in the sand trying to avoid the bullets. It looked like  
some sort of jig and the Maguanacs thought that Quatre was doing a   
victory dance. They started clapping and cheering him on. The lady with the  
twists in her hair fired at the angry short man with the pony tail and  
yelled, "Wufei stop this madness now! Or else I'll make you take swing  
dancing lessons with me! You're supposed to be Quatre's friend." The angry  
short man with the pony tail yelled, "Kisama, Woman!" He reluctantly stopped  
firing.  
  
The five preventers got out of their mobile suits and approached Quatre  
and Abdul. Quatre asked them, "Why were you attacking us?" Lady Une replied,  
"We were told that the Maguanac Corp still existed. As Preventers it is our  
duty to annihilate any situation or any group that might lead to war. But  
seeing the......um......unfortunate state of your mobile suits, you Maguanacs  
could not possibly be a threat. But I ask why do you still exist?" Mobile  
suits are unnecessary now." Abdul replied, "We feel that they are still some  
on Earth who are willing to wage war for reasons of power. We want to be  
prepared to fight if necessary." Lady Une put her right hand on her hip and  
said, "I understand your desire to fight, but I will be keeping an eye on  
you." With that the Maguanacs returned to their underground base, but Quatre  
decided to stay atop with his friends.  
  
Quatre and the Preventers, except Wufei, sat around a fire. Noin began to  
serve dinner, which consisted of pork and beans, to everyone. She gave some  
to Quatre who politely refused. Noin said, "Sorry kid, funds are low and this  
is all we can afford nowadays. We really don't have any missions anymore  
that's why Wufei was so excited." Suddenly they all heard a bloodcurdling  
howl followed by some coyotes yelping. Wufei then returned and Sally asked,  
"Wufei where have you been?" He looked at her solemnly and replied, "It was a  
full moon." Everyone just shrugged their shoulders. Noin handed him a bowl of  
pork and beans. Wufei took one bite and spit it out. He yelled, "Woman, what  
is this foul concoction? Even Catherine's watery soup tastes better than this  
crap!" Everyone ignored Wufei's usual ranting.  
  
After Wufei's third helping of Noin's pork and beans, they all began to  
converse with Quatre. He told them the whole story of why he was with the  
Maguanacs searching for treasure. Quatre than thanked them all for their  
generous gifts. Wufei elbowed Quatre and said, "I bet you really enjoyed my  
gift the most! It taught me how to boss women around." Sally then commanded  
Wufei to fetch her nail polish. Wufei replied, "Yes ma'am," and ran off to  
get it. Wufei was about to sit down again when Sally said, "Wufei be a dear  
and fetch my brush." Wufei got up again and retrieved her brush. He was about  
to sit down again when Sally barked, "Wufeeeiii where the hell is my book  
'Women are the superior sex'?" Wufei meekly answered, "It's on your bed." He  
quickly got up and got her book for her. Wufei finally sat down next to  
Quatre, "Now as I was saying, you have to show the woman who's boss." Quatre  
simply smiled.  
  
Lady Une gave everyone some coffee, as it was a cold night. Quatre then  
realized something, "Hey you guys, how come you couldn't make my birthday  
party?" He asked. They all turned red. Zechs replied, "Um....you see.....I  
was um.....washing my hair. It takes a long time to blow-dry it." Noin said,  
"I was.....oh I got it....on a date with Howard." Zechs spit out his coffee,  
raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Sally blurted out, "I was on a date  
with.....let me think....Noin." Everyone suddenly spit out their coffee.  
Zechs looked annoyed and everyone could see the temples bulge out on Wufei's  
head. "And you. Wufei?" Quatre sadly asked. "I was....uh....brushing my  
Barbies' hair." Everyone spit out their coffee again. Sally, Noin, and Lady  
Une were desperately trying not to laugh. Quatre looked at everyone  
skeptically and exclaimed, "Hey, that doesn't make sense!" Lady Une then  
solemnly said, "We were all cleaning the mildew off the twenty bathrooms in  
one of Relena's mansions." The other four preventers nodded their heads in  
agreement and said, "Yeah.....that's it!" Lady Une continued, "You see  
Quatre, the Preventers don't have a lot of money and we're taking any job we  
can come by." Quatre then said, "Oh you guys, you are very kind people to  
help Relena out."  
  
Quatre yawned, it was getting late. He was about to leave when he  
realized something. "Hey you guys, where's Heero? Isn't he supposed to be a  
Preventer?" Zechs replied, "We don't know where he is, but he's not a  
Preventer anymore." Quatre asked, "Well, why not?" Zechs said sternly, "It's  
a looong story Quatre. I'll tell you later." "Oh, okay," he replied.  
  
Quatre smiled, It was nice to be with his true friends again. Unfortunately, he had to return to the Maguanac base because he had a big day tomorrow. They were departing for Mecca. He sadly waved good-bye to them trying to hold back the tears. On his way back to the base, he suddenly shivered. He felt that same eerie feeling of being followed. He quickly ran in to the base.  
  
*****  
  
B) Mislead in Mecca  
  
Quatre scanned the city in front of him, Mecca. It was hot and they had  
been traveling for three days southwest from the base. Quatre decided to set  
up camp outside of town. He didn't want to bring Sandrock with him because he  
might scare the civilians. Quatre took half the Maguanacs with him to search  
for clues. Time hadn't changed Mecca: The streets were dark, narrow, and  
crowded. The buildings were not more than three stories high, rectangular in  
shape, with arched doorways and windows. They were merchants scurrying around  
selling textiles, rugs, furniture, pottery, and dates. The aroma of perfume and incense pervaded the city. In fact, it was rumored that most Arab towns  
had not changed since the beginning of the AD era.  
  
Quatre wandered warily around the dark alleys. He was scared that someone  
would try and steal his favorite purple vest. He asked any person he saw if  
he knew anything about a cave that contained treasure. But to his dismay, no  
one had any useful information. He hoped that the other Maguanacs were having  
better luck. Quatre felt this eerie feeling that he was being followed again.  
Suddenly, he saw a shadow next to his and turned around and screamed! To his  
surprise he saw an old lady in a black cloak with gray hair and a big nose.  
She reminded him of Howard. She spoke in a spooky voice, "I hear that you are  
looking for a cave with treasure. You seek Aladdin-the street rat-he knows  
Mecca inside out." Then she disappeared into the shadows.  
  
He had to ask several merchants before he could find Aladdin's hideout.  
That was because many of them were angry that Aladdin had stolen from them.  
He thought to himself, "Aladdin must not be a very kind person." He finally  
found Aladdin's hideout which was atop one of the roofs in a bad area of  
town. He saw a young man wearing baggy trousers similar to Wufei's and a  
purple vest like his. He had a monkey dressed like him with a purple fez.  
Quatre timidly asked, "Are you Aladdin the street rat?" Aladdin yawned and  
replied, "Whatz it to ya?" "I'm Quatre Raberba Winner and I'm in search of a  
cave filled with treasure. Aladdin said, "If you want my help, you'll have to  
give me your purple vest."  
  
Tears filled in Quatre's eyes. He couldn't part with his favorite purple  
vest, but he knew how much the treasure meant to the Maguanacs. He  
reluctantly gave his vest to Aladdin. Then he remembered that he had a  
thousand purple vests, similar to the one he had on, at home (thanks to his  
sisters) and he smiled. Aladdin looked happily at his new vest and said,  
"There once was cave called 'The Cave of Wonders' outside of Agrabah, which  
contained pots of gold and silver. Only the ruins of Agrabah exist now, but  
the cave is five miles from here." Enthusiastic about the information he had  
received, he gathered up the Maguanacs and they proceeded into the desert to  
look for the cave.  
  
In the mountains surrounding Mecca, they found something that looked like  
a doorway to the cave. The entrance had been sealed by a rock slide. Quatre  
excitedly shouted, "Open Sesame!" But nothing happened. All the Maguanacs  
burst out laughing. Abdul decided that explosives would be a more effective  
measure. The explosives worked and they all cautiously entered the cave. The  
cave was dark, dusty, and full of cobwebs. It seemed like no one had set foot  
in it for 2,000 years. Everyone expected to see mounds of treasure but the  
cave was barren. Abdul found a rusty old lamp and tried lighting it. To his  
dismay the lamp did not even work, and he angrily threw it to the ground.  
Everyone was disappointed especially Quatre. All that running around and they  
had found the wrong cave!  
  
They returned to the mouth of cave and standing there was a tall man  
dressed in a red and black robe, holding a snake staff. Perched on his  
shoulder was a red parrot, with a big beak, that was constantly cussing. The  
man addressed the Maguanacs, "My name is Jafar, and I humbly thank you for  
opening this cave for me. You have saved me a lot of trouble. By the way what  
is your mission here?" Quatre answered, "We are searching for the cave of the  
forty thieves." Jafar stroked his beard and said, "This is the 'Cave of  
Wonders' not the cave of the forty thieves my friends, I do not the location  
of the cave you search for. My advice is that you ask Scheherazade, the  
keeper of stories in Damascus." Quatre replied, "Thank you very much for your  
help. You are very kind person." But the mysterious man, with the snake  
staff, had already gone into the cave. All Quatre could here was an evil  
laughter. He just shrugged his shoulders. Anwar all this time had been  
stroking his pointy mustache and suddenly he hit himself on the head,  
"Quatre-sama! Quatre-sama!" He exclaimed. "We''ve found Aladdin's cave! We're  
in the wrong story." All the Maguanacs started laughing and Quatre just shook  
his head.  
  
The Maguanacs all headed back to their camp outside of Mecca. Quatre  
decided they should all get a good night's sleep to prepare for their long  
journey to Damascus tomorrow. One of the Maguanacs had just come back from  
town shouted, "Hey everyone!" The circus is in town! Let's all go see it!"  
Quatre was against the idea because everyone needed some rest and he was  
afraid of clowns. But he decided that after today's disappointment everyone  
could use some cheering up.  
  
They were all seated in a big yellow tent. The show was so far pretty  
good. The clowns, at the beginning, had really scared Quatre but he liked the  
cute ponies and rabbits. At last the main attraction began. This circus was  
renowned for it's flying trapeze act. Everyone gasped in amazement as they  
saw a skinny boy with a huge bang covering half his face and a pretty girl  
with red hair swing on their trapeze's a hundred feet in the air. Just as the  
pretty girl was about to somersault in the air, Quatre realized that he knew  
the trapeze artist. He stood up and yelled, "Trowaaahhhh." The male trapeze  
artist lost his concentration and forgot to catch the girl, who plummeted 100  
feet! Luckily, she landed on the safety net. The crowd started booing,  
especially the Maguanacs, and they all left.  
  
After everyone had left, Quatre began to look for Trowa in his trailer.  
He found Trowa, sitting by a camp fire, eating some soup. Suddenly, someone  
hit him hard on the back. He turned around and to his surprise he saw Duo and  
Hilde! "Oi, Quatre," exclaimed Duo, "Everyone heard your scream. You sounded  
like some sick obsessed Trowa fan." Quatre blushed and said, "I'm really  
sorry Trowa for ruining your show. I wonder if you will ever forgive me? I  
was just really excited to see you." Trowa looked up at him and said, "That's  
okay Quatre. At least you didn't try to kill me like last time." Quatre's  
eyes filled with tears as he remembered the time he tried to kill Trowa with  
Wing Zero. Catherine came out and asked, "Hey everybody, would you like some  
of my famous soup?"  
  
They all sat around the campfire eating their soup. Catherine asked  
Quatre if he liked the soup. Quatre thought to himself, "Wufei was right, her  
soup is watery." He just smiled at her. Quatre asked everyone what they were  
doing in town. Trowa and Catherine replied that their circus had become world  
famous and they were on tour. Duo said, "Hilde and I came to Mecca because  
Hilde was tired of wearing her beret. She wanted to try out her fez and Mecca  
has the best fezes." Quatre then began to tell his story of why he was in  
Mecca looking for the cave of the forty thieves.  
  
Quatre suddenly realized something. "Hey you guys, how come you didn't  
come to my birthday party?" They was a silence for what seemed like an hour.  
Quatre was surprised because he had never seen Duo close his mouth for such a  
long period of time. Duo finally, unable to stand it, opened his mouth and  
said, "I was in the bathroom." Quatre replied, "That long! What were you  
doing in there?" "Quatre, you don't wanna know," Duo stated. "And you Trowa?"  
Quatre said sadly. ".............." "Trowa answer me, I am your best friend."  
Trowa thought for a while and slowly opened his mouth, "I was reading 'How to  
be a Rude Obnoxious Loudmouth and Funny at the Same Time' by Duo Maxwell. I  
wanted to improve my speaking skills." Duo spit out his soup in surprise and  
exclaimed, "Oi, Trowa buddy." He hit his head with his hand. "This is the  
most I've ever heard you speak! I guess my book was really helpful. But I  
can't understand why I haven't sold more than two copies." Quatre exhaled,  
"Well I guess you both had very important things to do. Thanks for the  
presents. I'm really glad we got a chance to meet again."  
  
Quatre suddenly noticed that there was something different about Duo. Was  
it his hair? No, it was in a long braid. Was it his clothes? No, he was still  
dressed in black. Suddenly it hit him! Duo had bandages covering the whole of  
his face except his mouth. He inquired, "Duo what happened to you? Did you  
get hurt while you were in the bathroom?" Hilde, Catherine, and Trowa burst  
out laughing. Duo said sternly, which is a rare occurrence for him, "I don't  
feel like talking about it." Hilde whispered into Quatre's ear, "Duo's just  
embarrassed about what happened. I'll tell you about it later." Quatre just  
shrugged his shoulders and smiled.  
  
"Hey Trowa!" Quatre exclaimed. "Why don't we play 'I'm Your Friend,' the  
piece of music you sent me?" Trowa got out his flute and Quatre got out his  
violin and smiled. Trowa always wondered where Quatre kept his violin and  
Quatre always wondered where Trowa kept his flute. They started playing and  
Catherine began to sing, "Please believe that it's not magic. It's your  
kindness that holds all the power...I'm your friend." Duo was bored as hell  
and he got out his canteen of whisky and began chugging it down. It didn't  
take much to get Duo drunk. He got up and began dancing and ranting, "I'm  
Shinigami, the god of death, Oi. I'm Shinigami, the god of death, Oi," over  
and over. Hilde was embarrassed but Quatre and Trowa ignored him. Suddenly  
Duo yelled out, "I'll be Shinigami once more...but right now I need some  
sleep." Duo collapsed but the music continued long into the night.  
  
******  
  
C) The Storyteller of Damascus  
  
Quatre was sad to leave his best friend Trowa, but he had a mission to  
complete. Damascus was the oldest inhabited city in the world. It was  
surrounded by canals and was famous as a desert trade center. Quatre,  
Sandrock, and the Maguanacs proceeded northwards across the Arabian Desert to  
the former Republic of Syria. It had been a long five days and their supplies  
were running low. Quatre wished that Rashid was around. He knew that Rashid  
could solve any problem. Quatre still could not shake that eerie feeling that  
he was being followed. But he knew that the Maguanacs would protect him.  
  
The seventh day they spotted the ancient town of Damascus. They decided  
to make camp by one of the canals on the outskirts of town. Quatre, along  
with half the Maguanacs, decided to go into town to look for the storyteller  
name Scheherazade. Damascus was full of bazaars with merchants shouting out  
the goods they had to sell. They were men selling spices, slippers, rugs,  
perfumes, incense etc. Quatre began his search on the East side of town. He  
asked every person he saw if they knew Scheherazade, but all the responses he  
got were negative. It was getting dark and he suddenly found himself in a  
dark alley. He accidentally bumped into a garbage man picking up trash. The  
garbage man was annoyed and sternly looked at him with his Prussian blue  
eyes. The man pulled out his gun and Quatre screamed.  
  
The garbage man walked into the light and Quatre realized that he knew  
him! He yelled, "Heero! It's me Quatre." Heero said, "Hn (Heero's grunt), is  
that you Quatre? What are you doing here?" Quatre then relayed to Heero his  
quest to find the cave of the forty thieves. Heero just said, "Hn."  
  
"Hey Heero," Quatre asked, "I thought you worked for the Preventers. What  
happened?" Heero replied, "Hn..........., it was our annual softball game between the  
Preventers and Sweepers. I was first baseman. Lady Une had walked Duo up to  
first base. While she was getting ready to pitch, Duo kept on taunting me. He  
kept saying, 'Am I going to steal a base or am I going to stay?' 'Am I going to  
steal a base or am I going to stay?' Finally, I couldn't stand his loud mouth  
anymore so I took out my gun and said, 'Omae o korosu.' I shot him in the  
face, but he wouldn't shut up and kept saying, 'Oi!' So I shot him again. I  
guess we're even now. Lady Une, however, was not pleased. She came up to me  
and said, 'The actions you took were right on the mark and what I'm about to  
do is right on the mark as well!'  
  
"I was fired and since on my resume, under special skills, I wrote  
killing people this was the only job I could get. The good thing is that as a  
garbage man, Relena will never find me." Quatre solemnly replied, "Heero,  
that was not a very kind thing to do to Duo." Heero said, "Hn, Obviously."  
Quatre shook his head with tears in his eyes and said meekly, "Heero, why  
didn't you come to my birthday party?" "Quatre," Heero replied, "The only way  
to live a good life is to act on your emotions. Right now I have the urge the  
to shoot you." Heero pointed his gun at Quatre. Quatre ran as fast as he could  
and didn't stop until he was on the west side of town. Quatre thought to  
himself, "All that time I spent with Heero in the Sank Kingdom, and I never  
realized how cold and ruthless he was. I thought he was my best friend."  
  
He suddenly spotted a beautiful girl with long, honey colored, hair tied  
back and turquoise eyes. She was wearing a pink suit. She had a dignified  
expression on her face and her nose was slightly tilted upwards. He tapped  
her shoulder and the girl gracefully turned around and said, "My name is  
Relena Darlian," she extended her hand, "And you are.....?" "Don't you  
recognize me?" "Oh!" She exclaimed, "You're Chang Wufei!" "Relena," he said  
exasperatingly, "I'm Quatre Raberba Winner." "Oh....whatever. Have you seen  
this guy?" She held up a picture of a man wearing black spandex and a green  
tanktop with brown spiky hair. Quatre replied, "Oh, Heero! I saw him on the  
east side of town collecting trash." Relena yelled so loudly that the whole  
town could hear her, "Heeeeeeroooooo, I'm coming!" Meanwhile, on the east  
side of town an angry garbage man could be heard shouting, "Damn you Relena!"  
Quatre was about to ask Relena why she couldn't attend his birthday party,  
but she had already disappeared. Quatre shrugged his shoulders and thought to  
himself, "I'm sure that she's really busy now that she's a Vice-Foreign  
Minister."  
  
Suddenly someone tapped Quatre on the shoulder, and he screamed. He  
turned around and saw that it was Anwar. "Quatre-sama, We've found  
Scheherazade. She's in the looming district. Quatre and the Maguanacs entered  
a dome shaped house with Arabesque tiles. In the corner was a beautiful woman  
with long black hair and green eyes, weaving damask cloth. She was surrounded  
by tapestries which contained pictures of kings and queens, magical fish,  
genies, evil sorcerers, sailors looking for adventures, forty men with  
swords. Each picture seemed to tell a different story.  
  
She looked up from her loom at Quatre, "So you seek the cave of the forty  
thieves." She stood up, walked across the room, and retrieved a dusty, heavy  
book covered in gold. Quatre thought to himself, "Wow! That book must contain  
at least a thousand stories!" Scheherazade began leafing through the book.  
She said to Quatre and the Maguanacs, "Most of the stories in the Arabian  
Nights take place in and around the city of Baghdad. If the cave of the forty  
thieves exists it will be in Baghdad." Quatre stated, "Thank you very much  
for your help." She replied, "I only helped you because I like your pink  
shirt. Oh, one more thing, the location of the cave will be hard to find  
because the entrance is hidden by the mountain." Quatre thanked her again and  
said, "To Baghdad! Every one of us!"  
  
Part 3: The Treasure and Quatre's Shock  
  
Quatre, Sandrock, and the Maguanacs were standing at the foot of the mountains outside of Baghdad. Quatre sighed, he and the Maguanacs had been searching the whole day for the entrance of the cave. Scheherezade was right, the mountain camouflaged the cave. The sun was setting, he was frustrated, and ever since he left Damascus he had felt this eerie feeling that he was being followed. Suddenly, Quatre's eyes lit up and he smiled. He thought to himself, "We've been going about this all wrong. I know what to do." He yelled as loud as he could, "Open Sesame!" Everyone silently waited for something to happen. Instead they all heard a mountain goat 'baaaahing' and all the Maguanacs started to laugh at Quatre. Abdul said to Anwar, "It's even funnier the second time around." Quatre was close to tears because this had been his last hope of finding the cave.  
  
He was just about to give up and tell the Maguanacs that he had failed his mission when Abdul approached him, "Quatre-sama don't be sad because I have a great idea. How about we use explosives and create out own opening to the cave?" Abdul set the explosives and Quatre covered his ears. There was a loud 'boom' followed by a cloud of dust. Quatre and the Maguanacs held their breath as the dust settled. To their surprise they found that the mountain was still intact. Anwar groaned, "Abdul, your plans never work!" All the Maguanacs burst out laughing at Abdul's folly. A tear slid down Quatre's face. He turned to Sandrock and said, "Oh Sandrock, what should I do?" Suddenly an idea popped into his head and Quatre smiled. He said, "I know what I'll do, I'll use Sandrock's Heat Shorters to open up an entrance to the mountain." Turning to Sandrock, Quatre said, "I thank you my dear Sandrock for giving me the answer." Quatre was really glad that he brought Sandrock along. Even though he had not used Sandrock the entire mission, he would come in handy now.  
  
All the Maguanacs stepped aside as Quatre got into Sandrock and fired his Heat Shorters. The whole mountain shook and exploded. Gold, silver, rubies, diamonds, and emeralds came spewing out of the mountain. All the Maguanacs began dancing and cheering because they were excited that they had found Ali Baba's lost treasure. Abdul elbowed Quatre and said, "Quatre-sama you didn't need to blow up the whole mountain! I hope the citizens of Baghdad are not upset." Quatre blushed and replied, "I'm sorry mountain, but you were in my way." Quatre could not join in their cheering because he was still sad about Rashid's disappearance and he still could shake off that feeling of being followed. Suddenly, someone put their hand on Quatre's shoulder and he screamed!  
  
To his surprise it was.............Dorothy Catalonia! "Dorothy, I'm shocked! So it was you who was following me this whole time!" Dorothy replied, "Who else were you expecting Quatre-sama? Are you really surprised?" Quatre said, "Well, I guess not since you're always stalking me." Dorothy, in her callous voice, said, "It was fun terrorizing you, but I have better things to do than to hang around you." Quatre just shrugged his shoulders as Dorothy left. As Quatre and the Maguanacs were loading up the treasure to take back to their base, Abdul and Anwar approached him. Abdul said, "Quatre-sama something has been bothering us. This is a very important day but we've forgotten why. I know we're supposed to be somewhere." Quatre smiled and reassuringly said, "Don't worry I'm sure you'll remember, and you guys should be happy because you found the treasure that will save the Maguanacs Corp." Quatre and the Maguanacs then proceeded to Baghdad in order to get supplies for the journey home.  
  
Quatre did not want to go into the town of Baghdad. The streets were dark, narrow, and crowded. There were men smoking and drinking and women dancing in the streets. The town smelled of incense and rotting fish. It was Duo's kind of town. As they were about to leave Abdul exclaimed, "Hey everybody, that's the Sinbad Saloon over there. That's Rashid's favorite place to hang out. Let's go and check it out." Quatre did not want to go because he knew there would be people drinking, but the Maguanacs convinced him. Quatre reluctantly stepped into the saloon and to his surprise he saw...........  
  
A banner that said 'Happy Birthday Rashid!' Abdul started laughing and said, "Oh yeah, now I remember. Today is Rashid's birthday and we were all supposed to attend his birthday party. He told us that he would be away for a while in order to prepare for the celebration." Quatre gazed around the room and was shocked at what he saw: Relena, with a huge smile on her face, was dancing with Heero who looked annoyed. Duo, with his bandages removed, and Hilde, with her new red fez, were doing some sort of chicken dance. Trowa was playing the flute with the band. Catherine and his sister Iria were playing darts. Noin and Lady Une were sitting at a table drinking martinis. Zechs was reading 'How to be a Rude, Obnoxious Loudmouth and Funny at the Same Time' by Duo Maxwell. He was grumbling to himself, "Why did Noin buy me this book? I have a sense of humor." Wufei was standing cross-armed facing the wall. It didn't look like he was having a good time. Rashid was dancing with Sally. All his friends and his 29 sisters were at Rashid's birthday party!  
  
Quatre exclaimed, "Hey everybody, how come you're all at Rashid's party but none of you came to mine?" The music stopped playing and a hush filled the room. Duo was the first to break the silence, "Rashid throws the swingingest parties." Quatre turned to Trowa, but Trowa, as usual, did not have anything to say. Heero walked over to him and sternly said, "Face it Quatre, your parties are lame." Wufei then shouted out loud, "That's because you don't serve any alcohol." Sally whacked Wufei and said, "Shut up Wufei! We can't tell Quatre the real reason why nobody went to his birthday party." Tears filled Quatre's eyes and he sniffed and said, "That's okay, I'm just glad that everyone is together now."  
  
With that the band began to play again and everyone resumed what they were doing. Trowa was taking a break and Quatre began to walk up to him. Suddenly, someone grabbed Quatre's hand and dragged him on to the dance floor. Quatre really wanted to talk to Trowa, but he decided to join in the fun and dance with Dorothy. Everyone was having a good time except Heero, who looked like he was going to whip his gun out at any moment, and Wufei who looked like he had an umbrella stuck up his ass.  
  
After an hour, the music stopped and everyone gathered around Rashid and his birthday cake. They all sang "For he's a jolly good Maguanac, for he's a jolly good Maguanac, for he's a jolly good Maguanac, which nobody can't deny." Abdul said, "Rashid make a wish!" Rashid closed his eyes and blew out the candles. Then Quatre asked him what did he wish for. Rashid replied, "I wish everyone could be as kind as you, Quatre-sama." Quatre blushed and there is a tear in his eye. He said, "You are a very kind person Rashid." Duo interrupted this touching scene between Quatre and Rashid and shouted, "Hey everyone let's party Karaoke style." Quatre agreed and shouted, "Yeah!" Everyone else groaned but Duo and Quatre convinced the rest of the former Gundam Pilots to sing a song. They all reluctantly headed towards the stage. Sally dragged Wufei and tied him to a chair.  
  
In the background Heero is going "hn" and Duo is saying "Oi" repeatedly, providing the percussion)   
Chorus sung by Noin, Zechs, Lady Une, Sally, the 40 Maguanacs and Quatre's 29 sisters.  
  
Chorus: Fighting factions by daylight  
Killing people by moonlight  
Always self-destructing in a real fight, well....not Duo  
They are the ones --the Gundam Pilots  
  
Heero: My name is Heero  
I piloted Wing Zero  
As a Preventer I made a lot of cash  
Now I'm on the streets picking up trash  
My eyes are blue  
And if you cross my path, I will kill you  
(Heero was about to continue singing but Duo jumped in front of him and started singing with his tone-deaf voice)  
  
Duo: I might run, and I might hide  
but I never lie.  
that's me  
Duo Maxwell, I'm Shinigami  
  
Heero: Duo stop, if you open your mouth  
I will kill you no doubt  
  
(Duo hit his head and says, "Oi")  
  
Trowa: My name is Trowa Barton  
............................  
............................  
  
Quatre: Trowa, can't you rhyme  
  
Trowa: You know in Gundam Wing I had no lines  
  
Quatre: I'm Quatre Raberba Winner  
Nobody came to my birthday dinner  
I've been under a lot of pressure  
Now I've finally found my treasure  
My friend Trowa is tall  
I love to say, "We Shouldn't be fighting at all!"  
  
(Everyone groaned and the Preventers, the Maguanacs, and Quatre's 29 sisters all threw tomatoes at him.)  
  
Wufei: I'm Wufei, I think this is really foolish  
Singing is womanish  
I scare wild animals with my howl  
Heero your really smell foul  
I'm outta here  
  
(Out of nowhere Relena jumps on to the stage and grabs the microphone)  
  
Relena: I'm Relena Peacecraft Darlian  
Of course beautiful things are to be admired  
Like me, I'm the best  
Yet I'm in love with the worst dressed  
  
Heero: Relena you're such a pest!  
  
Chorus: Secret Gundams that have been given to them  
They are the ones -- the Gundam Pilots  
  
Applause exploded from everyone. Then Duo said, "Let's celebrate with some expensive champagne." Quatre smiled and replied, "As long as it's nonalcoholic!" Everyone annoyingly yelled, "Quaaaaaatre!"  
*Owari*  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
